2016 APEC Ministerial Meeting

Transcription

1 2016 APEC Ministerial Meeting Lima, Peru 18 Nov 2016 APEC PERU 2016 AMM JOINT STATEMENT We, the APEC Ministers, met in Lima, Peru, on November 17 and 18, 2016 under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Ricardo Luna, Foreign Minister of Peru and Mr Eduardo Ferreyros, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru. We welcome the participation of the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the 2016 Chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Paci c Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), the Paci c Islands Forum (PIF), as well as the APEC Secretariat and the APEC Policy Support Unit (PSU). APEC 2016 PRIORITIES In 2015 in Manila, APEC Leaders were determined to take action to build inclusive economies and a better world, to fully realize the vision of a stable, integrated, and prosperous community in the Asia-Paci c. We are committed to taking concrete steps and joint actions to foster peace, stability, prosperity, economic growth and development in the region, for a sustainable Asia-Paci c partnership. In 2016, our focus is on driving quality and inclusive growth to promote human development. We have been pursuing this goal through four priorities: Strengthening Regional Economic Integration (REI) and Quality Growth, Enhancing the Regional Food Market, Towards the Modernization of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Human Capital Development. We discussed the following outcomes under these priorities: 1. Strengthening Regional Economic Integration and Quality Growth By tackling the complex challenges that the global economy is facing, we remain committed to use all available policy tools monetary, scal and structural individually and collectively, to strengthen global demand and address supply constraints. Faced with rising skepticism over trade and stagnated trade growth, we reiterate our commitment to build an open economy in the Asia-Paci c featuring innovative development, interconnected growth and shared interests. We reaf rm that open trade policies are essential for sustained recovery and boosting growth for coming years. We also believe that the bene ts of trade and open markets need to be communicated to the wider public more effectively, emphasizing how trade promotes innovation, employment and higher living standards, and creates opportunities for our citizens that can support inclusive growth. Against this backdrop, we commend progress made in 2016 in the APEC region in pursuing trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation and economic and technical cooperation to boost human development, inclusive growth and prosperity in the region. Highlights of this progress are as follows: Support for the Multilateral Trading System We reaf rm our commitment to strengthen the multilateral trading system and recognize the important role of international trade to job creation, and sustained economic recovery, development and prosperity. We underline our con dence in the value and centrality of the rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, open, and inclusive multilateral trading system embodied in the WTO. Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 1/10

2 Building on the WTO s successful Bali and Nairobi Ministerial Conferences and recognizing all the elements contained in the Ministerial Declarations, we commit to continue implementing the Bali and Nairobi outcomes and advance negotiations on the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues as a matter of priority. We also note a range of issues of common interest and importance to today s economies in the Asia-Paci c region may be legitimate issues for WTO discussions. Therefore, we instruct our of cials to work with a sense of urgency and solidarity with all WTO Members to set the direction together towards achieving positive and meaningful results by the next WTO Ministerial Conference in 2017 and beyond. We endorse the initiative on Progressing the WTO Ministers Decision to Eliminate Export Subsidies. We reaf rm the pledge made by our Leaders against protectionism through a standstill commitment that we recommend be extended until the end of 2020 and to roll back protectionist and trade-distorting measures, which weaken trade and slow down the progress and recovery of the international economy. In this context, we continue to support the ongoing work of the WTO and other international organizations in monitoring protectionism. We welcome the progress made by economies in notifying their acceptance of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). We call upon the remaining APEC Economies as well as other WTO Members to make their utmost efforts to submit their instruments of acceptance of the TFA by the end of the year. We recognize that WTO consistent plurilateral trade agreements with broad participation can play an important role in complementing global liberalization initiatives. In this regard, the ongoing or already concluded plurilateral agreements such as the Information Technology Agreement and its expansion, the Trade in Services Agreement, and the Environmental Goods Agreement, shall be open to all WTO members who share the objectives of such plurilateral agreements and negotiations for participation. APEC economies participating in the WTO Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) negotiations reaf rm their aim to redouble efforts to bridge remaining gaps and conclude an ambitious, future-oriented EGA that seeks to eliminate tariffs on a broad range of environmental goods by the end of 2016, after nding effective ways to address the core concerns of participants. Furthermore, we also welcome the implementation of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) expansion and call on those who have committed to implement by July 1 st 2016 to do so as soon as possible. Bogor Goals We reaf rm our commitment to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in order to strengthen and deepen regional economic integration through both collective and individual efforts. We commend the completion of the 2016 Second-Term Review of APEC s Progress Towards the Bogor Goals and agree to submit this report to our Leaders. We welcome the positive ndings of the report, which show that in our region, relative to 1994, MFN applied tariff rates are much lower, there are more RTA/FTAs in force, more sectors are accessible to foreign investment and services trade, and indicators on socioeconomic progress, trade and investment facilitation have also improved. We encourage further work to address barriers identi ed in the report that prevent APEC from attaining free and open trade and investment. We reaf rm our collective and individual commitment to further promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and to reduce or eliminate restrictions and enhance cooperation to address "behind-the-border barriers through undertakings in line with APEC s work on structural reform. We welcome the First SOM Dialogue on APEC Toward 2020 and Beyond, and call on economies to continue further discussions with a view to developing a post 2020 vision for APEC. Free Trade Area of the Asia-Paci c (FTAAP) We reaf rm our commitment to advance the process in a comprehensive and systematic manner towards the eventual realization of the FTAAP as a major instrument to further APEC s regional economic integration agenda towards and beyond the Bogor Goals. We recall that APEC Leaders mandated a Collective Strategic Study on Issues Related to the Realization of the FTAAP, along with any Recommendations, in the Beijing Roadmap in 2014 and instructed of cials to nalize the Study and report to Leaders by the end of We acknowledge the high-quality work that has gone into the Collective Strategic Study and its Executive Summary along with Recommendations concluded by the Task Force, which is one of the most important deliverables of APEC We submit to Leaders and seek endorsement of the Study, its Executive Summary and its Recommendations. Based on these Recommendations, we instruct APEC Of cials to further develop and implement the work programs in areas identi ed in the Study s Recommendations but not limited to them, in order to enhance economies capabilities towards the realization of the FTAAP. APEC Of cials are further instructed to report on their progress at the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in May We value the contributions from the APEC Business Advisory Council, PECC and PSU to the FTAAP Study. We welcome APEC s progress in implementing the Regional Economic Integration (REI) Capacity Building Needs Initiative (CBNI), which has contributed to the expansion of our understanding on relevant elds of FTA negotiations, and will continue to serve as a solid stepping stone for the realization of the FTAAP. We welcome the capacity building workshops that took place this year and encourage economies to propose further capacity building actions under CBNI. We welcome the results of the Information Sharing Mechanism, including the SOM Dialogue on RTAs and FTAs, the Trade Policy Dialogue on RTAs/FTAs and the annual PSU report on RTA/FTAs in the APEC region. We instruct economies to continue working towards enhancing the transparency of RTAs/FTAs in the region and instruct of cials to discuss further the best practices which would improve the utilization of RTAs/FTAs in the region, especially by SMEs. We look forward to the Dialogue and Seminar regarding FTAAP next year. Quality Growth We note the importance of undertaking policies that result in the achievement of balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative, and secure growth. Hence, we reaf rm the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth, which prioritizes institution building, social cohesion, and environmental impact, to better focus our efforts in pursuing quality growth, building upon the 2010 APEC Growth Strategy, and bearing in mind the commitments in the 2014 APEC Accord on Innovative Development, Economic Reform and Growth. We welcome the Implementation and Monitoring of the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth at two levels: through the domestic processes of each economy and through the APEC framework. Structural Reform Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 2/10

3 We acknowledge the essential role of structural reform in boosting productivity and potential output as well as narrowing the development gap and promoting innovative growth in the region. We endorse the 2016 APEC Economic Policy Report (AEPR) on Structural Reform and Services. It recommends that unilateral services structural reforms should focus on productivity and ef ciency to generate inclusive economic growth, with policy frameworks that promote market-based competition to deliver productivity gains and ensure ef cient supply. We instruct of cials to strengthen the collaboration between Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) and Economic Committee (EC) on services and structural reform. We look forward to the 2017 AEPR, focusing on structural reform and human capital development. We reaf rm the role of structural reform in fostering medium-term economic growth and reversing the recent slowing down in our economies, and we welcome the ongoing implementation of the Renewed APEC Agenda for Structural Reform (RAASR), which strives to stimulate balanced and sustainable growth and reduce inequality. We welcome economies' RAASR Individual Action Plans (IAP) for , which outline each economy's priorities for action on relevant domestic structural reforms by We strongly recommend economies' of cials to work on their respective IAPs to achieve positive results by 2020, as mandated by RAASR. We welcome the progress achieved to date on the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) initiative, as well as the decision to proceed with the Second Phase of the EoDB Initiative in order to reach the 10 percent improvement goal by Services We acknowledge that services are a major contributor to productivity and growth within APEC. Improved competitiveness in services sectors as well as growth in services trade through an open and predictable environment for access to services is one of the key factors for APEC to boost its economic growth. We encourage member economies to take collective and unilateral actions including capacity building activities to promote an enabling environment for dynamic and ef cient services markets. We will seek to ensure that regulations promote fair competition and the adoption of new technologies. Therefore, we welcome the nalization of the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap as a concrete set of actions aimed at achieving these goals and agree to submit the Roadmap to Leaders for endorsement. We further instruct our of cials to undertake the necessary work to advance the objectives set out under the Roadmap, through APEC-wide and individual actions contained therein, including the development of an APEC index to measure the services regulatory environment in APEC economies, as envisaged in the Roadmap. As instructed by Leaders in the APEC Services Cooperation Framework to broaden multi-stakeholder engagement and share information and best practices on services-related policies and programs in APEC, we welcome the launch of the APEC Virtual Knowledge Center on Services. Strengthening Comprehensive Connectivity We reaf rm the importance of initiatives under the APEC Connectivity Blueprint for , towards a seamless and comprehensively connected and integrated Asia-Paci c region by 2025 through regional, sub-regional and domestic connectivity, including remote area connectivity. We encourage member economies to take further actions and develop additional targets to ensure the continued implementation of the APEC Connectivity Blueprint , under the pillars of physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity. We commend the efforts to further monitor, review and evaluate the implementation of the Blueprint. Against the background of rapidly growing demand on infrastructure in the Asia-Paci c region, we commit to promote investment with a focus on infrastructure in terms of both quantity and quality. We welcome the progress being made to ensure quality infrastructure, including the progress of the APEC Peer Review and Capacity Building on Infrastructure Development and Investment. To further advance our work, we commit to develop, maintain and renew quality infrastructure, including on ICT, energy and transport based on the important elements as demonstrated in related APEC works such as the APEC Connectivity Blueprint and other individual projects, including Peer Review and Capacity Building. We acknowledge that innovative nancing of infrastructure is critical to ensuring full economic growth and economic integration potential of the Asia-Paci c region, including exploring nancing through public-private partnerships (PPP) and other innovative means, as well as sharing knowledge and experiences. We encourage work within the Asia-Paci c Infrastructure Partnership. We recognize a key role of ICT infrastructure in enhanced connectivity at all levels and encourage economies to develop and cooperate on more initiatives on ICT infrastructure development and innovation. We reaf rm the signi cance of further facilitating business travel as a way to enhance economic activities and promote people-to-people connectivity. In this regard, we are committed to further enhancing the APEC Business Travel Card scheme, in order to provide more ef cient and secure travel throughout the region. Investment We acknowledge the signi cance of the Investment Facilitation Action Plan (IFAP) and encourage economies to report progress on the implementation of the agreed set of priority actions for Moreover, we call on APEC of cials to continue their efforts in implementing IFAP actions so as to contribute to a favorable investment climate in the APEC region. We welcome policy dialogues to exchange best practices on IFAP s implementation in the APEC region. We also support efforts to promote investments in infrastructure in order to improve the connectivity in the APEC Region. In the context of the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth, it is also important to promote sustainable investment in APEC economies. Trade Facilitation We welcome the nal assessment of the Supply Chain Connectivity Framework Action Plan (SCFAP). The SCFAP and its two predecessors, the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plans (TFAP I and TFAP II), were ambitious initiatives which attest to APEC s leadership in implementing trade facilitation measures. Although APEC has made considerable progress through the initiative, further gains can still be made. Therefore, we submit to Leaders for their endorsement the Suggested Framework for Phase Two of SCFAP and welcome the start of implementation next year to continue to enhance supply chain connectivity and ef ciency in the APEC region. We look forward to the conclusion of pilot projects and the related PSU Study on interoperable Global Data Standards (GDS) that will assess the costs and bene ts of using GDS to enhance supply chain performance. We encourage of cials to explore next steps for the wider use of interoperable GDS in the APEC region, based on the outcomes of the PSU Study. Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 3/10

4 We instruct of cials to continue the work of the APEC Alliance on Supply Chain Connectivity (A2C2) and make use of its contributions in APEC s capacity building efforts, based on regular inputs from the public and private sectors. We commend the results and ongoing implementation of the other ve capacity building projects and encourage of cials to continue to identify key capacity building programs that align with phase two. We reaf rm the importance of carrying forward work related to the Asia-Paci c Model E-Port Network (APMEN), to advance supply chain connectivity through E- port development and collaborative efforts. In this respect, we welcome the outcomes of the activities carried out so far and encourage economies to continue participating. We look forward to the nal Report on Best Practices on Critical Issues in the Asia-Paci c Region in order to pursue the Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Through APEC s leadership in this eld, we support the complete and effective implementation of the TFA as soon as possible. We commend progress on the Initiative on Single Window Systems (SWS) International Interoperability to foster the ow of goods, enhance supply chain security, reduce costs and provide quality and timely information on trade across borders. We look forward to the PSU study on key issues for implementing this initiative. We encourage economies to begin deliberations next year on establishing pilot projects on a voluntary basis based on the outcomes of the study. We commend the APEC work done in the eld of Customs Procedures noting its importance, as we continue to pursue effective and secure trade and facilitation in the region, based on the international standards developed by the World Customs Organization. We value the achievements made in implementing APEC Customs Mutual Recognition of Control, Mutual Assistance of Enforcement and Mutual Sharing of Information Strategic Framework. We welcome the increased collaboration with other fora, particularly on trade facilitation, combating illegal logging, travel facilitation and counter-terrorism issues. We encourage further work in experience exchange on the implementation of WTO TFA and promotion of customs control over cross-border E-commerce for better connectivity, further integration of regional economy and modernization of MSMEs. We encourage further efforts to strengthen our work in trade facilitation through building on existing workstreams, including on simpli cation of documents and procedures and transparency through the APEC Trade Repository, and encourage close coordination within APEC and its stakeholders to achieve our goals. We reaf rm the importance of information sharing along the supply chain. Especially, in light of greater consumer protection from hazardous chemicals coming down through the regional supply chains, we welcome discussions undertaken at the Chemical Dialogue on chemsherpa and other programs that would promote sharing information on chemicals in products. Global Value Chains We recognize that integration into global value chains can lead to a wide range of bene ts, such as contributing to the diversi cation of exports, creating new jobs or acquiring new technological capabilities in accordance with international best practices. We support progress in implementing the work streams of the APEC Strategic Blueprint for Promoting Global Value Chains Development and Cooperation. We commend the robust progress towards the completion of the APEC Trade in Value-Added (TiVA) Database by We welcome the activities made so far in implementing the Strategic Framework on Measurement of APEC TiVA under GVCs, its Action Plan and the 2016 Progress Report. We welcome the Work Plan for the APEC Technical Working Group on Measurement of TiVA under GVCs. We welcome the endorsement of the Report on APEC Developing Economies Better Participation in GVCs, and encourage members to carry out the recommendations contained in the report. We also take note of the draft report of the Study on the Enhancement of Integration of Regional Value Chains in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and look forward to its nalization. We value the nal report and outcomes of the initiative on Promoting SMEs Integration into GVCs in Major Industries, namely IT/electronics, automotive, textile, healthcare and agribusiness. We also support the initiative on SMEs Integration into Global Value Chains in Services Industries. We welcome the sectors established so far, namely software, tourism, fashion design and logistics, and encourage economies to voluntarily lead a sector and participate in the initiative. We welcome the endorsement of the scope and reporting method for the initiative on Increasing Transparency on Measures Affecting Exports, which will provide traders and other stakeholders with important market information and facilitate participation in GVCs. We encourage economies to undertake the work needed to implement this initiative and begin reporting the agreed information. We also encourage cooperation with relevant international organizations and partner institutions to draw on their expertise and knowledge for promoting GVCs development and cooperation in APEC, aiming to advance in studies and analysis required to design adequate methodologies that could help support public policies and actions in this area. Environmental Goods and Services/Green growth We welcome the recent entry into force of the Paris Agreement and commit to its ambitious and effective implementation. Our actions in these areas will protect human health and the environment, provide incentives for investments in green growth, and promote the global transformation required for a low carbon economy. We congratulate economies that have ful lled the Leaders groundbreaking commitment to reduce applied tariffs on the APEC Environmental Goods List to ve percent or less, and strongly urge those economies that have yet to ful ll this commitment to do so as soon as possible, and to update economies on the status of their implementation efforts. We welcome the completion of the PSU Survey on Regulatory Measures in Environmental Services. We look forward to further studies to build and enhance a common understanding of the roles of a wider range of services in environmental industries and businesses, as envisaged under the Environmental Services Action Plan (ESAP). We commend progress in the work of the APEC Cooperation Network on Green Supply Chain (GSCNET), including the launching of a bilingual website operated by GSCNET Tianjin Pilot Center. We welcome new member institutions which have joined the GSCNET and encourage members to nominate more institutions and experts to participate and contribute to a well-functioning GSCNET. Next Generation Trade and Investment Issues We welcome progress in implementing the Manufacturing Related Services Action Plan (MSAP), including the Implementation and Review Mechanism of the MSAP, and look forward to further exchanging views on economies' actions concerning manufacturing related services. Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 4/10

5 We welcome the ongoing work of the PSU on examining key issues in promoting digital trade in APEC and look forward to the nalization of its study on this topic. We take note of the next steps to advance our work on digital trade and look forward to continue exchanging views on this topic in 2017 by undertaking capacity building, developing case studies, and identifying practices to expand and promote digital trade in the region, and to ensure all member economies participation in digital trade, taking into consideration speci c economic circumstances. We note the discussion of the Path nder Initiative for a Permanent Customs Duty Moratorium on Electronic Transmission, including Content Transmitted Electronically. We reaf rm the important role that APEC plays as an incubator of policies to address issues that arise in the region s dynamic business environment and encourage of cials to work closely with ABAC to ensure that APEC s next generation trade and investment issue remains relevant to private sector stakeholders. We welcome the APEC Initiative of Cooperation to Promote Internet Economy, as well as the TELWG Strategic Action Plan and look forward to the development of the APEC Internet Economy Roadmap by the Ad Hoc Steering Group on the Internet Economy. We will collaborate to unleash the potential of internet and digital economy by promoting the adoption of emerging ICTs, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and encourage secure cross-border ows of information, while addressing the need to bridge the digital divide. We recognize the importance of the APEC Cross Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) System, a voluntary mechanism whose participants seek to expand participation, and we support enhanced cooperation in this area, including through promoting capacity building. Good Regulatory Practices and Cooperation We reaf rm the importance of creating a sound regulatory environment, advancing good regulatory practices and cooperation, promoting alignment of advertising standards and reducing the cost of doing business across the region. We welcome the progress on the implementation of the APEC Action Agenda on Advertising Standards and Practices and look forward to follow up activities to prepare a ve year implementation strategy. We welcome the dissemination of best practices in Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) among interested economies to increase ef ciency of legislation and provide transparency and quality of regulatory decision-making processes. We welcome the work done by the Economic Committee on regulatory improvement, including carrying out the 9th Conference on Good Regulatory Practices on the theme of building high level support for reform and international regulatory cooperation. We welcome the APEC Regulatory Cooperation Advancement Mechanism (ARCAM) Dialogue on Facilitating Trade and Investment in Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Solutions and look forward to the forthcoming report to enhance regulatory cooperation and coherence among APEC economies in this sector. We note the discussion of government procurement related issues to enhance APEC member economies understanding of opportunities and challenges in this area. We look forward to continued work on government procurement related issues. Standards and Conformance We welcome the work done by the Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC) to strengthen standards and conformance infrastructure, to support and promote innovation, trade facilitation and competitiveness of MSMEs as well as a quality culture in the APEC region through the exchange of experiences in standards and conformance education. We welcome the continued efforts of the Food Safety Cooperation Forum (FSCF) and its Partnership Training Institute Network (PTIN) that contribute to the enhancement of food safety systems and predictability and transparency in agriculture and food markets, facilitate international trade in the APEC region, and strengthen food safety infrastructure through behavioral science interventions that improve hand hygiene compliance. We congratulate the SCSC Wine Regulatory Forum (WRF) for ful lling its goal to develop a consolidated voluntary APEC model wine certi cate. We look forward to continued work by the WRF to promote the reduction and elimination of technical barriers on wine trade. We highlight that strengthening effective, science-based and transparent food regulatory systems is crucial to food trade facilitation. Recognizing that approaches and requirements to food safety may differ between economies or areas within them, we remain committed to seek and develop common ground for promoting strong science-based food safety systems that meet the legitimate objectives of protecting human, animal and plant life or health, whilst their application is as least trade restrictive as possible, consistent with WTO rights and obligations under agreements such as the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures. Thus, we praise food safety cross-fora co-operation and capacity building initiatives on this matter implemented in Intellectual Property Rights We endorse the APEC Best Practices in Trade Secrets Protection and Enforcement Against Misappropriation and acknowledge the importance of trade secrets as one of many essential tools that may help MSMEs to maintain their competitive standing, secure nancing, and integrate themselves into global supply chains. We recognize the importance of further work to promote cooperation, protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights, in accordance with TRIPS Agreement and enhance MSMEs' capacity on IP management and commercialization for their continuous development, growth and innovation. 2. Enhancing the Regional Food Market We recognize the importance of international trade among APEC members to increase market access in the food sector, which leads to greater food security by increasing the availability and diversity of the food supply. We call upon all WTO members to engage constructively to negotiate and make all concerted efforts to th agree and adopt a permanent solution on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes by the 11 Ministerial Conference of the WTO. Moreover, we recognize that open, transparent multilateral trade among APEC members has already led to signi cant food security gains in the APEC region. We are resolved in making positive efforts to address in the appropriate APEC sub-fora the outstanding issues identi ed in the 2016 Second-Term Review of APEC s Progress towards the Bogor Goals in accordance with WTO rules. We also encourage economies to address relevant measures including non-tariff measures and non-tariff barriers. We welcome the Piura Declaration on Food Security and its annexes. These documents set clear steps forward to consider integrated economic approaches, enhance food markets and sustainably produce food in the face of challenges to food production, storage and distribution. Thus, we encourage APEC economies to participate actively in these framework initiatives and to develop the respective action plans in Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 5/10

6 We welcome the multi-year APEC Program on Food Security and Climate Change. We recognize the profound impact that climate change will have on food security in every APEC economy. We welcome the establishment of the Strategic Framework on Rural-Urban Development to Strengthen Food Security and Quality Growth in APEC which recognizes the important implications of urbanization in the APEC region for food security, and the need for new, integrated economic approaches that promote food security and economic growth across the entire rural-to-urban spectrum. We highlight the importance of water as a basic element for sustainable agriculture and maintaining the natural environment, and that serious challenges are evident throughout the APEC region due to increased demand and the impact of climate change. We call on APEC economies to share their experiences on water governance for development and sustainability; as well as on its sustainable use and integrated management. Moreover, we encourage public-private partnerships to foster investment to improve water supply to populations and producers. We remain committed to the long-term goal of developing a sustainable APEC Food System to enhance food supply ef ciency and improve access to food and nutrition across the Asia-Paci c region and to provide long lasting food security for our populations. We will deepen regional cooperation on food standards and improve ef ciency of food trade. We reaf rm our resolve to implement the APEC Food Security Roadmap Towards 2020 and its commitments. Furthermore, we encourage economies to continue the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, noting the direct relevance of a number of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for food security. We strive to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition of vulnerable groups, and encourage contribution of the private sector in this regard. We acknowledge the important role of producers, including small scale producers in agriculture production and entrepreneurs in the food system, and support business models that promote capacity building and market access to strengthen their competitiveness in the overall food value chain. We acknowledge that connecting small-scale producers to local, regional and global markets has the potential to expand livelihood, reduce poverty, promote rural development and improve food security in the region. We value deliberations throughout 2016 on the cross-cutting issues of food security and climate change, and solutions including the use of agricultural innovation, sustainable use of resources, disaster management, agricultural technical cooperation and promotion of rural-urban development. We encourage economies to design focused, consensus-based actions to address these issues and to enhance agricultural productivity and food markets and reinforce the APEC Food System. We also encourage economies to promote investment, quality infrastructure, services and capacity building, including through the sharing of best practices, to support economic integration for the sake of food security and prosperity in the region. We note the role of the APEC Climate Center (APCC) in fostering strengthened science-based climate information systems for environmental and risk management related to food production. We also recognize the contribution of the 10th Senior Disaster Management of cials on the issue of food security We encourage member economies to strengthen communication and cooperation on food loss and waste reduction strategies, share best practices and call on member economies and stakeholders to make signi cant efforts to reduce food waste, improve its management and educate consumers to avoid waste. We value the progress of the APEC Food Losses Multi-Year project. We note the increasing importance of sustainable sheries and aquaculture to the region s food supply, as well as the signi cant challenges facing this sector. We encourage APEC economies to implement science-based measures to sustainably manage sh habitats and coastal and marine ecosystems including adapting such measures to climate change as appropriate and to cooperate to rebuild stocks, halt over shing, and prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) shing in the region. We call for further coordination and collaboration among APEC experts in sheries, aquaculture, and agriculture under APEC s food security agenda. 3. Modernizing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) We welcome the 2016 SME Ministerial Statement and acknowledge the fact that the modernization of SMEs implies taking concrete steps to increase their innovation capacities. Together with other initiatives, we will focus on fostering enabling environments and policies, innovation, reinforcing access to nancial means, ICT infrastructure and capacity building, enhancing the participation of SMEs in electronic commerce, and Online-to-Of ine (O2O) business model in order to help them gain access to new markets, reducing technological gaps faced by SMEs, and progressively promoting a more sustainable, eco-friendly and green production. We also acknowledge that it is important for each APEC economy to promote MSMEs active participation in global value chains (GVCs) through measures to address challenges faced by MSMEs in conducting overseas business development, e.g improving infrastructure, ensuring transparency in legal systems and business practices. We welcome progress made by APEC in implementing the Boracay Action Agenda to Globalize MSMEs. We encourage economies to further reduce the costs associated with non-tariff measures (NTMs), as recognized by APEC economies through their inclusion in the Boracay Action Agenda and APEC Individual Action Plans. We further encourage economies to continue the development of initiatives that will bene t MSMEs in the region and contribute to their internationalization. We also acknowledge the importance of greater involvement of SMEs in business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) markets. We welcome the initiative to develop a Compendium on Methodologies for SMEs Internationalization in order to exchange APEC members policies, strategies and measures to achieve SMEs internationalization. We look forward to the progress of this initiative in 2017 towards contributing to the Boracay Action Agenda and the Iloilo Initiative on MSMEs Marketplace. We recognize the opportunities that the digital economy offers to MSMEs to enhance integration into global supply chains and value chains, fostering more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. We welcome the progress of the APEC Supporting Industry Initiative from the viewpoint of promoting policies for the improvement of supporting industries productivity and competitiveness, with particular focus on MSMEs, by sharing policy experiences in APEC, and instruct of cials to take steps to report research outcomes to Ministers and to develop a policy guideline in We welcome the initiative to develop an APEC Strategy for Green and Sustainable MSMEs. We encourage the public-private partnership approach as a means to create an enabling environment where MSMEs can take part in green activities in a cost-effective manner, and to enhance green awareness and necessary skills of MSMEs to develop accessible green technologies. We welcome the outcomes of the third APEC Business Ethics for SMEs Forum, notably the launch of the ethical business frameworks bringing together diverse stakeholders in a new model to eliminate unethical business practices across healthcare systems. We reaf rm the commitment by APEC economies to enhance work with third party intermediaries. We also welcome the new Implementation Team envisioned for the engineering and construction sector that will foster cross-fora collaboration within APEC to strengthen infrastructure development practices. Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 6/10

7 4. Developing Human Capital We welcome the Joint Ministerial Statement from the Sixth APEC Education Ministerial Meeting and its associated outcomes, particularly the APEC Education Strategy which will guide us to achieve inclusive and quality education and training by enhancing competencies, accelerating innovation and increasing employability. The APEC Education Strategy will help support an increase in the participation rate of disadvantaged and underrepresented groups and align education to the needs of individuals, societies, labor markets and science-technology development. We therefore encourage member economies to start implementing the APEC Education Strategy, including by setting annual goals in the 2017 HRDWG work plan. Taking into consideration the vital role of ICTs in the modern world connectivity, and understanding that bridging the digital divide can help facilitate better access to education, we encourage APEC economies to promote capacity building activities for increased digital literacy. We also welcome the development of the APEC Baseline Report on Current Education Status in the Asia Paci c region, as an important tool for enhancing mutual understanding, and learning of educational development among APEC member economies. We urge APEC of cials to update this important information when necessary. We acknowledge the importance of mainstreaming human development through APEC fora. Thus, we encourage member economies to explore possible cross fora collaboration on human capital development, so as to include MSMEs, women, youth, the elderly and persons with disabilities. With a view to preparing our societies for the future world of work, we would welcome a focus on developing 21st century skills, promoting entrepreneurship and boosting employability in our students and youth, including STEM, data analytics and technical skills focusing on women and disadvantaged groups. In this regard, we are committed to strengthening our efforts to tackle youth unemployment under the APEC Framework for Youth Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship, which was adopted by the HRDWG. We welcome the outcomes of the Joint Meetings between HRDWG, PPSTI and the EC in 2016 and encourage them to continue working together to further develop human capital in the region, to contribute to the structural reform agenda, and to deepen participation in labor markets. We recognize that collaborative work in APEC will help shape and enhance the skills and competencies of people through either education or work experience. Educational processes are an essential tool that enables people to bene t throughout their lives from training, innovation, research and problem solving. We acknowledge that human capital development should focus on boosting workers skills to increase the competitiveness of enterprises through innovation in processes and productivity. We recognize that the acquisition of soft skills is just as important as technical capabilities. We recognize the importance of workplace safety and encourage APEC economies to share relevant best practices across the APEC region. OTHER SECTORAL OUTCOMES Tourism We welcome the strong commitment of the 2016 APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM) to foster an environment that allows tourism-related MSMEs to participate in global value chains to encourage inclusive growth. As the world s largest air passenger market, we acknowledge the importance of travel and tourism as a vehicle for job creation, economic growth, sustainable development, and peace. In that sense, we welcome the APEC Travel Facilitation Initiative s (TFI) progress in facilitating and enhancing people to people connectivity. We recognize travel facilitation and air connectivity as key factors for economic and regional development and catalysts for quality growth of the tourism sector. The movement of travelers across the Asia-Paci c region for both business and tourism is key to promoting economic growth, trade, and regional economic integration. We welcome the Developing Traveler-Friendly Airports in the APEC Region and stress the importance of moving forward with efforts to develop smart traveler programs and visa facilitation agreements. We also encourage APEC economies to develop trusted traveler programs and utilize advanced information systems such as advance passenger information and passenger name record (API/PNR) in order to ensure safe, secure and ef cient travel. Urbanization We acknowledge that urbanization is rapidly advancing in the Asia-Paci c region and note the need to implement sound, sustainable and people-oriented urbanization processes in order to create new opportunities and to invigorate innovative development. We note with appreciation the APEC High-Level Urbanization Forum held in Ningbo, China, and the Ningbo Initiative. We encourage APEC economies to further and deepen urbanization cooperation and enhance APEC economies urbanization quality. We take note of the project on Developing the Methodology for Measuring and Realizing the Sustainability of Cities in the APEC region. Women and the Economy On this ve year anniversary of the San Francisco Declaration we reaf rm our shared vision for inclusive growth in which women are able to achieve their full economic potential and contribute to the development and prosperity of the Asia-Paci c. We welcome the APEC Women and the Economy 2016 Forum Statement that recognizes the crucial role of women in the development and prosperity of the Asia-Paci c. We underline the importance of women s contribution to economic growth with a view to achieving a more inclusive and balanced growth for the Asia-Paci c region through fostering an enabling environment for women. Recognizing our responsibility to create a society in which all women and girls are empowered and actively engaged for sustainable, inclusive and equitable economic growth, we call on economies to pursue concrete policies and innovative measures to further enhance women s economic empowerment by providing wider access and more resources for more women to engage in economic activities, and seek their greater inclusion in the regional economy as well as through the provision of equal opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, training and education, social protection, innovation, access to international markets, leadership and decision-making at all levels. We recognize the importance of having a systematic approach to women s economic empowerment, including enhancing digital literacy of women, recognition and redistribution of unpaid care work, the elimination of gender-based violence and to advocate for mutual respect and shared responsibilities between men and women. Recognizing that enhancing women s representation in the economic sphere particularly in leadership, decision making and management will serve as a catalyst to promote economic growth, we welcome the mid-term review study and Public- Private Dialogue (PPD) of the Individual Action Plan (IAP) for the Enhancement of the Ratio of Women s Representation in Leadership project. We also welcome the initiative to conduct and share case studies of Good Practices on Gender Diversity in Corporate Leadership for Growth. Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 7/10

8 We welcome the outcomes of the 2016 APEC Women in STEM Forum as a key contribution to address capacity building priorities identi ed under the Women and the Economy Dashboard. We welcome economies efforts to encourage adolescent girls participation in STEM elds. We welcome the conclusion of APEC Multi Year Project on Innovation for Women and Economic Development. We welcome the outcomes of the rst APEC contest for women-entrepreneurs APEC Business Ef ciency and Success Target Awards (APEC BEST Awards) for promoting women s entrepreneurship through spreading success stories across the APEC economies and boosting business networking, and call for continued implementation of the APEC Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Policy Toolkit. We encourage more extensive collaboration and mainstreaming of gender equality and women s economic empowerment across APEC working groups and fora, considering its nature as a cross-cutting issue. Health We welcome the outcomes and recommendations from the Sixth High-Level Meeting on Health and the Economy and efforts to explore multi-sectoral approaches to ensure the implementation of the Healthy Asia-Paci c 2020 Roadmap in support of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We welcome efforts to build more ef cient and high-performing health systems, including through public-private partnerships. We encourage cross-fora collaboration to achieve the common goal of proactive investment in healthy workforces and access to healthcare. We call on APEC economies to continue to work together to enhance the evidence base for policy development, effective health interventions, improved decisionmaking, and impact measurement. We acknowledge the importance of the secondary use of health and medical data in accordance with relevant ethical and data privacy laws principles. We call on economies to reduce unnecessary barriers to trade and investment in the supply chain of healthcare products. We welcome APEC efforts to campaign for mental health including the development of projects under the APEC Digital Hub for Mental Health. We welcome capacity building efforts to ensure the safety and sustainability of the blood supply chain, and accelerate action on cervical cancer. We emphasize the importance for APEC economies of ensuring proper resource allocation; underscoring the importance of health in domestic budgets; making high impact investments; aligning regulatory standards and procedures, and maximizing the use of existing health infrastructure for improving health system ef ciencies. Furthermore, we call on APEC economies to improve people s health and well-being by putting in place health systems, which achieve and maintain Universal Health Coverage (UHC). We recognize the importance of strong health systems in fostering quality growth, nancial inclusion, and human development and look forward to the further work planned for 2017 on ways to address the scal and economic impacts of ill health. The life sciences are critical to supporting quality growth, innovation and access to medical products. We reaf rm APEC s goal of achieving convergence of regulatory approval procedures for medical products by 2020 and urge the Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF) to continue applying its model of government, academia and industry cooperation to build capacity and policy research towards achieving this goal. We welcome the Center of Excellence pilot programs on quality standards, multi-regional clinical trials, biotherapeutics, and global data standards conducted by relevant institutions. Marine Debris Recognizing the health and environmental concerns created by the large and rapidly increasing amount of plastic litter in the ocean from land-based sources and an insuf cient waste management system which is not attracting the attention of investors, we endorse the Policy and Practice Recommendations of the APEC High-Level Meeting on Overcoming Barriers to Financing Waste management Systems to Prevent Marine Litter in the Asia Paci c Region. Blue Economy We value the outcomes of the 4th APEC Blue Economy Forum and encourage economies to enhance the Forum as a vehicle of regional blue economy cooperation. We encourage the APEC Marine Sustainable Development Center to take stock of regional blue economy cooperation and through the Ocean and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG) facilitate the update of the APEC Marine Sustainable Development Report to promote regional marine sustainable development, as an important APEC contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We welcome efforts to strengthen our work in addressing and mainstreaming cross-cutting issues of ocean cooperation amongst relevant APEC fora. Emergency Preparedness As we continue to experience the economic devastation brought by disasters in our vulnerable region, we recommit our efforts to ensure our communities, businesses, and economies are prepared to recover as quickly as possible. We endorse the APEC Principles for Early Warning Systems and welcome the APEC Disaster Risk Reduction Framework Action Plan. We further encourage economies to implement the Seven Principles of Supply Chain Resilience, especially business continuity planning. We also encourage capacity building, strengthening early warning systems, and search and rescue cooperation for the resilience and livelihood of communities. Industry Dialogues We encourage economies to utilize the Chemical Dialogue s best practice principles checklist during the regulatory process. We welcome the report and recommendations on reducing divergences in implementation of the Globally Harmonized System of Classi cation and Labelling of Chemicals and instruct of cials to report on implementation of those recommendations in We welcome efforts to streamline import certi cation procedures for chemicals and improve predictability and transparency. ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION We remain committed to the Manila Framework on ECOTECH, and will continue to leverage ECOTECH activities to help developing economies achieve the Bogor Goals by We welcome the decision to approach capacity-building activities with strategic foresight by undertaking multi-year projects, including support for APEC s work to strengthen and deepen regional economic integration and to facilitate the realization of the FTAAP. We also welcome contributions by members to the APEC Support Fund. We note with appreciation the full operation of Sub-Funds on the FTAAP/GVC, IERG, and Connectivity. We recognize the important work of the budget and management committee (BMC), through its small Working Group, and exchanges with SCE on pending issues to implement the APEC Capacity Building Policy to better support APEC economies. We look forward to the respective recommendations to be presented by We highlight the importance and appreciate the contribution of capacity building efforts for developing economies, and call for more contributions in this regard. Science, Technology and Innovation Papers/Annual Ministerial Meetings/Annual/2016/2016_amm.aspx 8/10